Forever Young
by Sai-Mei03
Summary: After running away with her mom, Bella is back for junior and senior year. Edward isn't the same, does Bella have what it takes to heal Edward's mind, body, and maybe his heart....
1. I HATE SCHOOL!

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in this story. sniff sniff**

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Bella's POV

"Bella," mom cooed, leaning in over my head, as I lay in my bed pretending to be asleep, "It's time to get ready for school! C'mon, get up! It's your first day!" She gently shook me awake, rocking my shoulders back and forth.

At the mention of school, I dropped my façade—I was never good at lying anyway—and yelled, "I hate school! It's so boring and the boys are gross! I want to stay here with you!" As I said this, my fists clenched into balls and my face, I suppose, looked deadly serious.

"Honey how can you hate school? You've never been to school before." My mom asked, trying to be serious, but failing miserably. She was still in fits of laughter when I reminded her that I was going to be late. She stopped laughing almost instantly.

"Okay honey, you're going to have to work with me here. I know you didn't finish unpacking most of your things, but could you just gather up all the things you need for school?"

"Like my backpack? And crayons?" I asked, eagerly.

"Yes Bella, exactly those." After twenty minutes of rummaging through boxes and closets, I got most of the things I needed, causing me to get quite a few bruises as well. I went back upstairs and saw my mom looking through my drawers trying to find me an outfit to wear. She heard my come in and held out a frilly, pink dress with butterflies thrown all over it. It looked ghastly. I, in turn, widened my eyes in horror— I wouldn't ever wear a dress to school!

"Oh honey, but it's so pretty. Just think how adorable you'd look!" She gushed with excitement.

"Mo-om!" I whined. "I hate dresses!" I ran to my dresser and pulled out jeans and a Power Ranger t-shirt. Then after twenty more minutes of fussing, rifling, and arguing, we finally arrived at my pre-school.

"I looked out of my windows and instantly noticed the flock of kids my age heading up to the building. I looked back at my mom pleadingly, but she shook her head no and urged me to. "Go on! You can do it!" I thought the opposite. I only moved here about three days ago, I didn't get to know any of the other kids, I'd be the only one who doesn't have a friend. I mean, it's not everyday where a new family moves into dreary, rainy, Forks.

I got out of the car and made my way to the front steps. I was so fascinated with everything and everyone I didn't I was falling until my line of view was knocked askew. I heard some kids laughing and saw some kids pointing at me. I was so embarrassed. I stood up trying to regain what little dignity I had left only to have it thrown away when my mom came running up to me, brushing off the dirt from my clothes and kissing my face. I blushed and knocked her hands away and ran the rest of the way to the "Kid's Jailhouse." That's the name I dubbed the massive building before me.

It didn't take me very long to find my classroom. Everybody was already seated, so I had to walk in front of everybody. There was only one empty seat. It was at a table, next to a tiny, pixie-looking girl and in front of an angelic, god-looking boy, with bronze, messy hair. They looked like brother and sister. The girl was wearing a bright yellow sundress with matching sandals and the boy had jeans on with a fitting, long sleeve that had a picture of a monster truck on it.

I quietly made my way to the seat, aware of all the stares directed at me and the whispers, I assumed, was not supposed to hear.

As I sat in my seat and turned my head to the pixie-girl, glaring at her for staring at me, she smiled the biggest, brightest smile I had ever seen. I couldn't help but smile back, but I was sure it looked more like a wince. I shifted my gaze to the boy, who was gazing at me, with an emotionless face. When he finally noticed me staring at him, he grinned a crooked grin, I instantly adored.

_Maybe school isn't going to be as bad as I thought_, I thought to myself while smiling at, I hoped, my two new friends.

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**Sai Mei03- I hope you liked this first chapter. REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!**

**P.S. Tell me if it's worth continuing **


	2. Could this day get any worse?

6 years later!

BPOV

Alice, Edward, and I have been best friends ever since I first talked to them on the first day of preschool.

_FLASHBACK_

"_HI! MynameisAliceCullen! What'syours?" Alice, the girl who sat next to me, asked._

"_Bella Swan." I said as I turned my attention to the boy. "I'm Edward Cullen. Alice and I are brother and sister," he said._

"_Can we be best friends?" Alice gushed, practically jumping out of her seat._

"_Okay," I replied, unsure of just what I got myself into._

"_That's fantastic" Alice —_

_END FLASHBACK_

I was interrupted from my thoughts by my annoyed looking mother, Renee. I had stopped calling her mom when she and my dad, Charlie, divorced. That was two years ago…

RPOV

"Bella… Bella… Bella!" At first I just stood there calling out her name, and when she would answer I poked her. She still wouldn't answer, so I clapped my hands as loud as I could and screamed her name. That got her attention. I got annoyed because she looked like she just noticed me standing here.

"Isabella, I need to talk to you."

BPOV

"Isabella, I need to talk to you." Uh oh. She called me by my full name. Something is up.

"Mkay Renee. Hold on. I'm going to call Alice and Ed—"

I was interrupted by Renee. "Bella, we have to talk. NOW," she said in a firm, stern voice.

We sat down on the couch, facing each other. I was twirling a small bundle of my hair, when she said, "We're moving." I was about to interrupt, when she continued. "We're going to Phoenix Arizona. I already found us a place; it's close to a ballet studio." Renee gushed out.

I looked at her, my vision getting teary, and yelled, "WHY CAN'T WE STAY HERE! I HAVE FRIENDS HERE! I DON'T WANNA MOVE TO STUPID PHOENIX! And plus tomorrow is the first day of school…" I added in weakly.

After two hours, we finished packing most of our things, except for the cloths we'll be wearing for the next few days.

"Renee, can I at least go to school tomorrow?" I asked, pleadingly.

"Okay, but don't tell ANYONE we're moving. Not even Edward and Alice." Renee ordered.

"Why?!" I asked, practically yelling.

"I already called and told Esme and Carlisle. They said they would tell them." I looked at Renee, her face was beet red and she was sweating. I was unsure if she was lying or not, so I took her for her word.

The next day was the first day of fifth grade. I was feeling so many mixed emotions. I was excited, depressed, angry, reluctant, and hopeful.

I met Alice and Edward at our usual spot next to the swings. When I noticed Alice giving me death glares, I thought _Uh oh. I forgot to call…_

APOV

"ISABELLA MARIE SWAN! I can't believe you didn't call us yesterday!" I yelled.

When I saw her get out of her mom's car, I wanted to walk straight to her, and confront her, but Edward held me back.

She was wearing dark, denim, ripped jeans, a yellow fleece jacket, with matching yellow flip flops. **(Outfit on profile.)**

_Uh oh. _I thought. _Bad news. _Edward apparently thought so too, because when he noticed that Bella was wearing semi-fashionable clothes, his eyes opened wide in fear.

I clutched the hem of my black and white spaghetti strap dress (**Outfit on profile.) **and waited for her to come closer. I kicked the dirt with my foot when I realized I was wearing white flip flops. I groaned internally. Could this day get any worse?

Bella looked so vulnerable, I couldn't be mad at her, so I decided I would pretend to be mad. As fast as I could, I quickly explained my plan to Edward, before Bella came.

She arrived without falling on her way here, I was surprised. I always tease her that if there was danger within a 10-mile radius, it would find her sooner or later. I was trying to fight the smile that was tugging at the corners of my mouth and regained my earlier composure— pissed off.

I waited for her to finally notice was shooting "Death Glares" at her when I pounced.

BPOV

"ISABELLA MARIE SWAN! I can't believe you didn't call us yesterday!" Alice screamed, looking so fierce for such a tiny person.

Note to self: Never ever make Alice mad ever again.

I was about to retort back when I noticed two new kids. They looked like angels. One was a girl the other, a boy. They both had lean bodies, blond hair, and angelic faces. The girl was wearing dark, denim, short skirt, a white vest over a pink tank top, around her neck was a pink and white striped scarf, and she wore matching pink flip flops. **(Outfit on profile.)** The girl looked about as fashionable as Alice. That's pretty fashionable.

Alice looked to where I held my gaze, and her jaw dropped open.

"They are gorgeous!" She said, forgetting she was mad at me. I silently thanked god for that. She was about to walk up to them, when Jessica, a girl we used to be friends with, pushed past her with Lauren, and walked up to the newcomers. She wore a plaighted, spaghetti strap dress with a purple outline. **(Outfit on profile.)**

I felt Alice tense next to me, I held her hand, and we confidently made our way to Jessica, Lauren, and the new kids.

Alice pushed Jessica and I snorted. Jess looked so embarrassed; she turned around and stomped away, with Lauren following her.

Before Alice could scare the new people away, I interrupted her just as she was opening her mouth and said, "Hi! My name is Bella Swan." I said while holding out my right hand.

The girl took it and replied, "I'm Rosalie, but please call me Rose. This is my brother, Jasper." She inclined her head towards the boy.

After we shook hands, I introduced Alice, who was rudely staring at Jasper, who was rudely staring back. I was about to introduce Edward, when I realized he wasn't eve there. I shrugged my shoulders just as the bell rang. We all headed towards our classrooms.

Alice and I met up with Edward in our classroom and class started. Ten minutes later, Jasper came in, his head down, his hands twitching. Alice looked like she was in heaven. She and I looked at each other and suddenly started laughing. Then it dawned on me that this is the last time I'd probably ever see Edward or Alice again. Now, I met two new friends whom I wouldn't ever see again either. Could this day get any worse? Throughout the rest of the day I was bummed out. Edward and Alice kept asking what was wrong, but I shrugged them off. At one point, Edward threatened to carry me until I tell him what was wrong. But I couldn't. He did make an attempt to carry me though, but I laughed and ran away with Edward catching up to me fast.

When I came home, Renee was sitting on one of the suitcases, her arms folded across her chest.

"Bella," she said, "We're leaving in an hour. Our plane will leave in an hour and forty0five minutes."

I gathered up all of my things, and made my way numbly downstairs. Charlie was at work, so I couldn't say goodbye to him. Renee already called the taxi service, so I wasn't surprised when I saw a guy taking out suitcase into the taxi. I handed him all three of my suitcases and went to sit in the taxi.

I waited for the taxi driver and Renee to get in the car. When they did, I looked out my window as the engine roared to life. What I saw outside my window ate up my insides. I saw Edward standing across the street, staring at me, with tears in his eyes. He was holding a package in his hand and a card that I could he made himself. I read the big bold lettering, it said, 'won't you tell me what's bugging' you?' There was a picture of a ladybug in the front. I looked into his eyes, and never looked away until I was far enough away from him. I would never forget the look on his face…


	3. EMMETT!

BPOV:

"OHMYFUCKINGGODRENEE!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU LIED TO ME FOR SEVEN EFFIN YEARS!" (**Just break the words apart to understand.) **

"Honey," Renee said calmly, "you have to understand. Everybody looked down on me."

"Why'd you lie to me?"I asked, coldly.

"I knew you'd want to stay in Forks. It was a stupid reason I know! But every time I walked into a store or the library or church, anywhere, everybody would be looking at me and whispering about me. I hated it. I felt so disgusting and worthless. When they talked about me from behind my back, they called me, 'That slut that used chief Swan.'" She held up her hands for emphasis. "So I had to run away. WE had to runaway."

"You could've at least allowed me to call my friends! They probably hate me!" I cried, forlornly.

I looked up at my mom, her trembling lips, guilty eyes, and red, panicked face. I couldn't blame her, she was about to lose her only child, and she knew it.

"I'm leaving." I said, my voice allowing no argument or interruption. It was final.

Two weeks later, I was on board a plane leaving for Washington State. Renee already called Charlie and he said he'd be there at the airport to pick me up.

As I waited for the plane to take off, this big, muscular guy sat down next to me. He looked strangely familiar. I didn't realize I was staring until he said, "Bella stop, you're making me blush." I heard the smile in his voice. "I'm offended Bells, you don't remember me? I looked at him again; he sort of looked like Edward, but not quite so much. He was bulkier and had dimples. He seemed like a big goofball. Edward couldn't be this bulky, could he? Nooo. Then that means this must be, "EMMETT!" I screeched while throwing my arms around his neck. He started laughing.

EMPOV:

I was five people behind her. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw her! It couldn't be Bella! Bella! Will she remember me? Will she even talk to me? She is only a year younger than me. So the last time I saw her, I was nine. So she was eight? Yeah.

Alice and Edward are going to flip! I can't wait to tell them. _Wow_, I thought, _she really filled in._ I remember she was such a little monkey. Every time she fell, which was often, she'd look at her scab, inspect it, and then start running all over again. She always blushed too. I wonder if she still does…

I sat down next to her, staring straight ahead, waiting for her reaction. I felt her staring at me, and I smiled. _At least I look familiar_ I thought to myself, as I saw out of the corner of my eye that she was trying to figure out why I look so familiar. After a few minutes of being stared at, I said, "Bella stop, you're making me blush."I looked at her just in time to see her face turn beet red before she turned away. Does she really not remember me?

"I'm offended Bella. You don't remember me?" I asked, innocently. She turned back to face me, and watched her face as it finally clicked.

"EMMETT!" she screamed. The next thing I knew, she was hugging me. I laughed so hard, my stomach hurt.

BPOV:

After Emmett stopped laughing, we stated to catch up.

He told me he was attending a boarding school in Arizona but decided to finish the rest of his senior year at home. The last time I saw him, I was eight. That was the year Charlie and Renee got divorced…

I told him my story and his eyes looked downcast.

"After you left, Edward called me, and told me what happened."He said. "He was so depressed. He got to doing bad things. Every day Alice would call and tell me what's been going on. When you left, she cried for weeks." I immediately felt bad. I couldn't believe I made Alice cry. The only thing worse than making her mad, was making her sad. Edward and Alice would definitely still be mad at me, if they saw me; they'd probably not talk to me either.

"Emmett," I started, "do they hate me?"I didn't want to hear the answer, but I couldn't help myself.

"Nah, they were just mad you didn't say goodbye." He replied matter-of-factly.

We were silent most of the way home. Now and then he'd ask about the different time I had fallen since I've been gone, each event made him laugh harder than the last.

When we landed, I realized someone had to pick him up, and I was wondering who. So I asked. His answer caught me off guard.

"Charlie." He said looking down at me, a smile getting already forming. He noticed my confused look and started to explain. "I'm going to surprise everybody. I was going to call a cab, but then I saw you board the plane, so I was like 'What the heck? Why not?' Y'know?"

I was surprised. Emmett was always considered the "slow one". He was always the last to get a joke, but he was such a goofball. I've always considered him my big brother, starting from when we first met.

_FLASHBACK_

"_Bella, you're going to love my house. It's big, so we can play around in it! You'll get to meet Emmett too! He's my big brother, he's one year older than us." Alice explained as she dragged me to the entrance of her house. We'd been best friends for four days, and this'd be the first time I'd go to her house._

"_Alice don't rush her. She's probably scared." I looked over at Edward; his eyes were filled with worry and concern. Once we got into the house someone yelled, "Eddie! Alice! Finally! I thought you guys got lost on the way home," cried a booming voice._

_I looked towards the direction the voice was coming from and was met by an older boy, with short, curly hair, and the cutest dimples I had ever seen._

"_You must be Bella." Emmett, I concluded, said._

"_Eddie's told me all about you!" he gushed. I held out my hand so he could shake it, he just looked at it confused, and then ignored it. Instead, he lifted me off of my feet and gave me a ginormous bear hug._

"_Put me down! Put me down!" I yelled. Suddenly Emmett yowled in pain, and gently put me down. He glared over at Edward, who was staring at his feet, and looking so innocent. I looked over at Alice; she was in fits of laughter. I made my way over to her, being as careful as I could, not wanting to embarrass myself. I was still met by the cold, linoleum floor. I looked up and Emmett was laughing so hard I thought he would roll on the floor, holding his stomach, and shaking his legs as he laughed. That is exactly what it came to._

"_Eddie," laugh, "you were," laugh, "r-right," laugh, "she is a-a," laugh, "k-k-klutz." more laughter. _

_I glared at Edward, who gave me the crooked grin he knew I couldn't resist, and shrugged._

_END FLASHBACK_

"Izzy! I'm so glad you're here! And—Emmett! Wow, I didn't think you could get any bigger." Charlie gave me an awkward one-armed hug and took my suitcases. I looked from Charlie to Emmett; they were both smiling, and thought, _this is going to be a long ride home, _before getting into the cruiser.


	4. Hasn't been the same

BPOV

I told Emmett to don't tell anyone I was in Forks, he reluctantly agreed. Charlie and I dropped him off about a quarter of a mile away from his house, so that they would see me or hear Charlie drive up.

A week had passed and no hate mail arrived, so I assumed Emmett kept his word and didn't tell anybody. The nest day was Monday, the first day of my junior year in Forks High School, Home of the Spartans. It was spring break when I arrived, so school was out for one and a half weeks. I was a nervous wreck. I didn't know what to wear, where my classes were, and what to expect. I only saw the situation in three scenarios.

One: I could enter the high school, beg for Alice's and Edward's forgiveness, then we'd all be friends again.

Two: I could enter the high school, Alice and Edward would hate once they saw me and never speak to me again.

Three: I could enter the high school, pretend I had amnesia, and say I didn't know who they were. Then we could all start anew.

I was only sure of one thing: Tomorrow is not going to go well.

The next day I was extremely tired because I didn't sleep the night before. I kept thinking and worrying over Edward's and Alice's reactions when they see me.

I got up out of bed and made my way towards my bathroom. I took my time showering and brushing my teeth. I applied mascara on my eyelashes, and inspected myself in my mirror. This was as good as I'll ever get. I went into my room and rifled through my drawers. Since it was sunny outside, which was a first, I decided to wear yellow, denim, short shorts with a plain, purple, fitting tee, and over that I wore a Billabong Charcoal Hoodie **(Outfit on profile)**. I looked at my alarm clock and realized I was running late. So I looked as quickly as I could to find matching socks, grabbed my yellow, low-cut converse, and went downstairs.

As I made my way towards the kitchen, I noticed a key ring that had two keys. I wondered if Charlie walked to work and thought I should borrow his cruiser. I'd rather walk. I was about to walk out the door when I saw a note stuck to the counter.

Good Morning Izzy!

I hope your first day goes great!

there's some orange juice in the refrigerator and

toast in the microwave that's screaming your name!

Have a good day! Oh and I took

the honor of buying you a truck! I hope you like it!

Love you, Charlie.

I screamed. My own truck! A truck! OhmyeffinGod! "I got a truck!" I yelled to no one in particular. I was so giddy! I looked into the microwave for me toast and grabbed it out, as I did with my orange juice from the refrigerator. After I put my socks and shoes on and I made sure I had everything in my backpack, I chewed and gulped my way to the door, my keys already in my hand.

I walked to the side of the house and fell in love. My truck was so me. It was an old Chevy that looked strangely familiar.

I got in and drove to school. Luckily, most of the kids at Forks High School were about as rich as I was, so my truck didn't stand out, as much. It would've fit right in if not for the rattling sounds my truck made. As I got out, people stood where they were and gawked. I turned around to get my backpack from the back of my truck when I saw them.

I saw all of them, plus two more.

First, I saw Alice, she wore a navy blue pleated dress, with a leather round buckle belt. She carried an Abbey Satchel bag, on her wrist she wore an Enamel Bracelet, and at the top of her head were sunglasses by Moschino **(Outfit on profile)**. The second person I saw was holding Alice's hand, Jasper. That made me smile. They made such a cute couple. I looked to their left and saw Rosalie talking to Emmett. She was wearing a dark, grey, knit dress over black tights. She wore a patterned scarf around her neck, a black handbag at her side, she had on tall, black boots, and she wore Aviator shades, covering her eyes. Emmett looked like he was actually paying attention to her, maybe he liked her. They'd make a cute couple as well.

There were two other people I had never seen before. They were holding hands; one was a girl, the other, a boy. The girl had curly, brown hair. She wore eyeglasses and had a sundress on. She looked extremely nice. Her boyfriend, I assumed was Asian. They too, made a cute couple.

Then my gaze switched automatically to the lone figure walking apart from this group. Edward.

He looked gorgeous. He wasn't as muscular as Emmett, he was lean, and was a natural kind of muscular. He wore a black leather jacket over a white tee, and he wore jeans that fit him perfectly. **(Outfit on profile).** I quickly looked away so they wouldn't notice me.

I felt a stab of jealousy towards that girl I had never seen before, she and her boyfriend talked to them like they've known each other for ages. The bell knocked me out of my thoughts. I briskly made my 

way to my class, when I realized I didn't know where my class was. I felt someone tapping my shoulder, so I turned around only to face that nice-looking girl from earlier.

"Are you lost?" She asked, concerned. I was glad she didn't ask if I was new.

"Ummm… yeah actually." I replied.

"What room are you going to?"

"I'm actually looking for the main office… I haven't gotten my schedule yet…" I said, blushing.

She chuckled. "I'll take you there, and then we'll see what your first class is."

I followed her until we came to a lady behind a desk. Her hair was is a tight bun and she wore eyeglasses. I looked back at Alice's friend silently asking if I should go up to the lady, she nodded. I looked back at the lady, she reminded me of a strict, ballet teacher.

"Hi. My name is Isabella Swan. I transferred here from Phoenix."

"Oh. You are Chief Swan's daughter?" She said this as a question.

"Uh… yeah."

"Here you go." She said with a stern smile, as she handed me a piece of paper, I assumed was my schedule, and an excuse note.

"Thank you… uh…" I looked at her name tag, "Mrs. Moss."

"You're welcome Isabella." She replied, tersely.

"Oh please, call me Bella." I smiled.

I turned around and gave Alice's friend my schedule. She took it, looked at me, and said, "Well Bella, my name is Angela. You can either call me Ang or Angie." She said with a warm smile. As much as I didn't want to, I liked her immediately.

She looked down at my schedule and her eyes lit up. "Hey, you have first through third period with me. Isn't that great?" She asked, a little bit too excited. I could tell Alice rubbed off on her a bit.

"Yeah, that's cool." I said honestly.

As the late bell rang, I was wondering if we would get into trouble since we're late, but then I remembered my excuse note. "Our first class is English Literature. We have it with Mr. Mason. He's a pretty cool guy. Follow me."

We turned down a few hallways and got to, I supposed, my first period. We went inside and I handed my excuse note and schedule to him. He grunted then told me to sit by Angela. I was relieved. I 

turned around to see the faces of my classmates staring back at me. Then I noticed a boy with blonde hair and an angelic face. Jasper…

JPOV

When Bella walked in with Ang, I recognized her instantly. She didn't look entirely different. She had all her teeth this time, grew taller, lost her baby face, and had a teenager's body. As she walked in, everybody stared at her, but she didn't look at anybody, she just went straight up to Mr. Mason and handed him two sheets of paper.

I heard Mr. Mason tell Bella she'll be sitting next to Ang, so then that means she'll be sitting right in front of me. I felt something graze against my forearm, so I looked down and saw a piece of paper. It was probably a note from Ang.

I opened it and read:

Bella is a new student. She like transferred here from Phoenix. She's pretty cool. I like her. You have first and second period with her.

I wrote back replying:

**I know her! When I first moved here, she was one of the first people I met. But then she suddenly left the second day of school. I wonder why she's back… but she is cool though.**

I passed the note back to Ang, who snatched it out of my hand fast. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Bella taking her seat in front of me. I wonder if she recognizes me, or at least remembers me…

I looked towards her, she was in shock. She smiled then mouthed, 'Hey Jasper.' I nodded my head in turn. 'So she does remember me' I mused.

BPOV

First and second period passed by slowly. I got to know Ang a bit better, and wasn't surprised when she said that Ben, the Asian dude from earlier, was her boyfriend. I caught up with Jasper, and wasn't surprised when he said Alice was his girlfriend. He asked me what I have been up to, and I summarized my life in Phoenix in five minutes. This included my failure of ballet classes, my nonexistent life at school, my mom's new boyfriend, Phil, and my continuing clumsiness.

When third period arrived, I wasn't as tense as I was in the morning. Though, when Ang escorted me to class, all the tension that faded away, came rushing back to me, ten fold. Ang tried to get me to relax by introducing her friends in that class, but all I could think about was the reason I got so tense all of a sudden. Him. Edward. He was sitting right there third table, on the left side, from the white 

board. He sat by himself. I panicked, I didn't know what to do, so I tried to include myself in the conversation Angela and her friends were having, but I couldn't. When Ang realized this, she gently shoved me to the front of the classroom, and took my schedule out of my hands and handed it to my teacher. I was interrupted from my panicked thoughts by a, "Hello. I'm Mr. Banner and I'll be your Biology teacher for the rest of the school year."

"H-Hi. Uh I'm Isabella but just call me—"

"Bella." A silky, velvety voice said. I looked around to see who said that, and planted my eyes on Edward. Everybody was staring at him, but his eyes were only on me. I felt so self conscious. We stared at each other; my eyes seemed like they couldn't stray away from him. After about twenty seconds, he looked away.

I cleared my throat, my heart already speeding up, and feeling flustered, I turned to Mr. Banner and said, "Yes. Just call me Bella."

"Okay Bella. You will sit next to Cullen for the remainder of the year, since you two already seem to know each other and it's the only seat available." I reluctantly made my way to the seat next to Edward.

I was about to sit down when a cool breeze blew in, causing my hair to flap wildly across my face. I lost my line of view and missed my seat. I started falling.

I closed my eyes as I waited for the impact between my face and the floor, and when none came, I opened my eyes, and stared into the shocked, surprised, emerald green eyes of Edward Cullen. I blushed.

EPOV

I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up when Bella walked into the classroom. My two friends, Geoffrey and Tanya, already texted me and said there was a newbie in school. I just didn't realize that Bella was the newbie. When I saw her, I expected a flood of anger, but instead I felt strangely happy and relieved. After seven years, Bella is back. She's back…

"H-Hi. Uh I'm Isabella but just call me—" I broke her off by finishing her sentence. "Bella." I didn't know what came over me. I just felt the urge to say her name out loud to see if what I was seeing was for real. I felt the eyes of everybody on me but all I could look at was Bella. She looked beautiful. Her gaze met mine and I took my time taking in every detail and angle of her face. When I saw a blush creeping up into her face, I had to look away, or else I would've kissed her right then and there. Ashamed at how weak I was, I bowed my head down and looked at my hands shaking.

What was she doing to me? She was only Bella. Just Bella…

"Yes. Just call me Bella." She said to Mr. Banner.

"Okay Bella. You will sit next to Cullen for the remainder of the year, since you two already seem to know each other and it's the only seat available." This class just got interesting.

She made her way to the empty seat next to me and just as she was about to sit down, the wind blew in, and her scent spread throughout the room. She smelled like strawberries and freesia. She looked extra beautiful with her hair flowing like that, she also looked annoyed. I was just about to hold her seat out for her, when I stopped myself. What's gotten into me? I looked at her and then all of a sudden, she started to fall. Before I knew what I was doing, I was holding her in my arms, our faces only inches apart. Then she blushed, and I smiled. I've always loved it when she blushed, she looked so adorable.

She stood up, taking her seat. I was utterly disappointed; I wanted her to thank me, beg to her mine.

Mr. Banner caught everybody's attention as he cleared his throat. "Okay, let's get this class started." He said.

I tried to pay attention, but the entire time, I was aware of Bella's presence, so I tried not to make a move. I stood as still as a statue. _What's she doing to me?_ I thought to myself.


	5. Edward Incident

CH 5- Incident with Edward

BPOV

I walked out of Biology as fast as I could. Next was lunch and the cafeteria wasn't hard to find, so I left without waiting for Angela.

When I opened the doors to the lunchroom and looked inside, I was one of the first people there. I got my food which consisted of a salad, an apple, and a cheese sandwich, and made my way to the third table farthest away from the lunchroom doors. Five minutes later, most everybody in the school was in the lunchroom. I didn't think the lunchroom was that big, it still had more than enough space to walk around.

"Ohmygod! Bella! I thought Jasper was lying when he said you were back!" I turned around and suddenly a short girl, with pixie-like hair jumped on me. Alice… She gave me a hug that would rival one of Emmett's bear hugs, I hugged her back. She held onto my shoulders and leaned back, inspecting me.

"God Bella! You look great!" she chirped.

"So do you Alice!" We smiled, and then hugged each other again.

"Jeez Alice… you have to share!" someone whined jokingly. I looked over to who was talking, it was Rose. I let go of Alice reluctantly and gave Rosa a hug as well.

"It's nice to have you back," she said as she hugged me.

"See Bella, I told you I wouldn't tell anyone." Emmett said. Suddenly, all eyes were on him, and they looked pissed.

APOV

"Shut up Jasper! Your mean to think that's funny." I scolded Jasper as he, Rose, Emmett, Ben, Angela, and I made our way to the lunchroom.

"I don't think that's funny. That's why I'm not laughing." Japer replied, serious.

I rolled my eyes.

"Why would I lie about this? She really is back; she was in my first two classes." Jasper insisted. I looked over at Rose and Emmett to see if they believed him, Rose looked like she was considering it, and Emmett looked nervous. I truly wanted to believe him, but it seemed way too impossible. Why would Bella come back?

We entered the lunchroom and got our lunch. We were headed towards our usual table, when I saw someone was already sitting there. I frowned. It was a girl, with wavy, brown hair. Her skin was almost as pale as mine, and she was fairly tall.

Bella…

I was ecstatic. I couldn't help myself, so I yelled, "Ohmygod! Bella! I thought Jasper was lying when he said you were back!" She turned around, and 

I threw myself at her to give a big, bear hug, like Emmett does.

I leaned back while still holding onto her shoulders, inspecting her. She looked amazing! Her hair grew to be about mid- back and she looked abut to be 5'7". Her clothes matched, and were stylish. It looked like the type of thing she would wear, while still looking fabulous. I was so proud.

"God Bella! You look great!" I told her, she blushed— same old Bella.

"So do you Alice!" She replied. I was glad. We smiled at each other then gave one last hug.

"Jeez Alice… you have to share!" Rosalie said, pretending to whine. I frowned.

She only knew Bella for one day! I've known her for six years! I should've been able to hug her longer.

I realized how selfish I was being, and relented. So I let Bella hug Rose.

"See Bella, I told you I wouldn't tell anyone." Emmett said. I snapped my head at him. HE KNEW!! He knew Bella was back, and didn't bother to tell anyone! I am so gonna kill him!

Emmett seemed to realize what he just did, and looked at the floor, guiltily.

"I'm sorry! She told me not to tell anyone, so I didn't!" Emmett pleaded, trying to make us understand.

"Emmett! You should have known better! Since when do you ever keep a secret anyway?" I asked, angry.

"Uh oh. You in trooouuublllee." Jasper said, sounding like Tweedy bird.

"It wasn't his fault," Bella began, smiling, "I told him not to. I wasn't sure if you'd be happy I was back. I 

mean, I did leave quite suddenly." She ended with a frown.

"Oh Izzy. How could you think I would ever not love you anymore! You're the peanut to my butter, the ice to my cream, the—"

"Pop to your corn. I know. I know." She said, and then we looked at each other, and laughed. We all sat down at the table, and introduced Ben and Angela. She and Ang already knew each other though.

"Bella, I need to talk to you." I didn't need to look up, to see who was talking to Bella. It was Edward, my brother.

BPOV

"Bella, I need to talk to you." I already knew who it was. There was no other voice like that. I looked around at everyone, their faces were guarded and they were all tense. Do they not like him? Behind him 

were a boy and a girl. The boy had blondish-brown, long hair that was tied into a low, loose ponytail. He wasn't as muscular as Emmett, but he was getting there. He was like 6'3" it seemed. His eyes traveled up and down my body, I felt revealed and disgusting. I regretted wearing shorts today.

I looked over to the girl. Her hair was strawberry blonde. She was almost as gorgeous as Alice, but in a slutty kind of way. She wore a tube top, that should not have been worn, and the shortest black skirt I have ever seen. To top off that look, she had on 4" black stilettos. Those were deadly. I looked into her face; she looked like she was about ready to kill me.

I looked at Edward; he was looking back at me, studying… I did not want to talk to him, if those two people were going to be there.

"I'm sorry Edward, but I'm busy at the moment. Come back when you look more normal." I told him, looking straight into his eyes. Once I said this, 

my table and the tables around me turned quiet. They all turned their heads towards Edward and me.

"You have no idea what you got yourself into." He replied, a warning clear in his velvet voice. Once he and his friends walked away, I shuddered, and resumed eating.

"Bella!" Alice started, "I cannot believe you just did that!"

"Why? It was only Edward, he's nothing special." I said, mostly to myself.

"You don't understand," Rose began to explain, "Edward's friends are bad asses. He is the worst out of all, your dad has drove Edward home in the cruiser more than I can count. Nobody has ever talked to him like that, well, that is, until now…" Everyone looked pointedly at me.

"What type of things has he done?" I asked, curiously.

"Well…" Jasper began, but Emmett interrupted.

"He screws every female that is screwable and doesn't even care. He goes to school about three times a week, sometimes even less, he drinks too much, parties all night, doesn't give a shit about anyone else, but him, and he doesn't respect anyone." By now, Emmett voice was filled with disgust.

"Soooo… Edward is a womanizer?" I asked.

They all looked at me, and soon, we were all laughing. When our laughter died down, I asked, "Who were they, standing in behind him?"

"Well, the guy's name is James. The girl is Tanya. She used to be Edward's girlfriend, and she still wants to be. She throws herself at him like practically every day, and every time, he denies her." Alice began all this with a scowl, and ended with a smile.

I wanted to know more, so I asked, "When did he start acting like this?" I wanted to know the answer, but some part of me already knew.

I looked at everyone and their heads were bowed down, guiltily. I think I knew the answer.

As a way to get rid of the tension, Ben said, "I'm having a birthday party this Saturday. All of you guys are invited." We all looked up appreciatively, and with bright smiles.

"I could help set up and everything, so I'll be there extra early." Alice offered.

"That'll be great. Angie—babe, you're still helping right?"

"Of course, Ben." She said, leaning n to kiss him on the cheek.

"What kind of party will it be?" I asked.

"Pool." He said simply.

"I don't have any swimming clothes." I told them, and then regretted what I said almost instantly. In 5 seconds… 4… 3… 2…

"Shopping!" Alice shouted, excitement flowing out of her like a waterfall. She is really hyperactive. Rose and I groaned. Alice frowned at us, and then told us the plan.

Then the bell signaling that lunch was over rang.

Ben and I had the next class together, so I didn't have to find the gym on my own. I hate gym. It's my worse class. I groaned in frustration, and Ben laughed.

We arrived in the gym, and while I handed my schedule to our Coach, Ben went o go change. The bell rang again, and everybody came in from the locker rooms. They stared at me and I heard whispers going around. I ignored them, and walked up to Ben, who 

was talking to another guy. I recognized him as one of Ang's friends. I think his name was Mike.

"Hi, you're Bella right?" I nodded. "Mike." He held out his hand, and I took it.

"How did you know Edward Cullen? Everyone's talking about how you stood up to him. That's pretty amazing." He said in awe.

"Well, I used to live here, seven years ago, and we were friends. But I guess not anymore."

"That's cool. So you have a boyfriend?" He asked, hopefully.

"Uh… not that I know of…" I said.

He laughed. "You're a pretty funny gal. I hope I talk to you more."

"Same here." I replied, hoping he didn't notice my little fib. Don't get me wrong, he was once of the nicest people I have met so far, but he was just too overbearing.

He was just about to ask me something else, when coach yelled us over, and told everybody to get in their squads. I didn't have a squad, so I stood there, dumbly, while everyone else ran to their squads.

Coach seemed to notice my dilemma, because he said, "Swan, you'll be sitting in front of Cullen." I desperately hoped it was a different Cullen, maybe Alice or Emmett. I turned to my left, and saw a sorry-looking Ben, and next to him, an angry-looking Edward.

"Coach, there's an empty spot behind me!" Mike whined, hoping I'd sit next to him.

"Yeah, please Coach!" I whined as well.

"Oh shut up Izzy, and sit." Edward barked. Even when he was frustrated his voice still had that velvety tilt.

"Look Cullen, I don't know what your problem is, but don't you ever call me Izzy again, or else I'll—

"You'll what?" Edward prompted.

"I'll…" I forgot Coach was listening in, so I trailed off.

"Thought so…" Edward said, sounding quite victorious.

"Whatever Cullen." I replied, rolling my eyes.

I walked towards Edward and was about to sit down, when I started to fall. I expected the impact between the gym floor and my head to come soon, but it didn't. Instead, I felt a pair of strong arms, helping me up my feet. I looked up, preparing to thank my hero, and looked up into the surprised face of Edward Cullen.

"Let. Go. Of. Me." I said, pissed off.

He looked confused, and then soon it dawned on him how our "situation" looked like. His eyes once warm and soft, were now cold and hard. He didn't let go until I was firmly, standing on both feet.

Then he let go… instantly. Strangely enough, I didn't want him to let go, I felt vulnerable and open to 

harms way. 'Stop thinking like that' I chided myself, 'Get a hold of yourself.'

"Cullen and Swan!" Coach barked, "Since the both of you insist on disrupting my class, you both will start running the track, until I tell you to come back in. Go." Edward and I groaned, and headed out to the track.

I arrived at the track first, and decided to stretch. I did five lunges on each leg, and when Edward finally arrived, I was doing squats. I didn't want him to think he fazed me, so when he came, I didn't bother to turn my head away. He didn't bother to stretch and was just about to run, when I held him back by saying, "If you don't stretch, you're going to get cramps."

He turned around slowly, a grin spreading across his face, "Izzy… do you actually care?"

My eyes turned wide as I heard him call me by my pet name, he laughed, and then I began running 

after him. I think I'm a pretty fast runner, so I thought chasing him would be as easy as cheese. It wasn't.

He was always a yard or less, ahead of me the entire time. I was just glad I could tell he was actually trying. After I sprinted ten laps, without walking, I started walking. A girl can only take so much, Y'know?

When he finally noticed I wasn't chasing him anymore, he slowed to a walk as well. He was now about ten yards ahead of me, yet he seemed to go slower still, I was almost catching up to him

"Why re you here Swan?" he asked, when I finally reached him.

"Renee lied to me, so I came back." I replied, not really wanting to go into it.

He still probed further, "What'd she lie about?"

"She ran away instead of really leaving, and she hadn't told anybody." I said, forlornly.

"How'd you find out?" he asked, curious.

FLASHBACK

I emailed my dad the day before, so when I opened my inbox, I wasn't surprised when I saw a letter waiting for me, from him. Although, I was surprised to read what was inside the letter.

Oh my God Bells! I've been trying to contact you for the last seven years! I miss you so much! How've you been? And Renee? When I told Carlisle and Esme you guys left, they were shocked. They starting crying and Esme was asking why you guys didn't say good bye. I really miss you Bells! Get to back to me ASAP!

Love, Charlie

I read that email a few more times, then after the sixth or seventh time, I closed it. That was right before I confronted Renee.

END FLASHBACK

Edward had his left hand on the side of my face, and started wiping away tears, I didn't know had fallen. After a few embarrassing moments, Coach told us to come back inside. Gym was over.

When Ben, Mike, and I left the gym, all I could think about was Edward and how he didn't tease me or anything when I cried into his shirt. The whole time, all he did was hold me tight, and rub my back. Maybe the new Edward is just a front…

The rest of the school day was uneventful and passed by quickly. Alice offered to drive me home, but I declined, telling her I had my own set of "wheels". When I showed her my truck, I laughed.  
The look on her face was priceless, she looked shocked and scared. I didn't care what she thought though, I love my truck.

When I came home, I was exhausted. Then I remembered this was only my first day, I groaned in frustration. I was at least happy there wasn't any homework given. Soon, I fell asleep on the couch, too tired to make the walk to my bedroom.

I woke up to the sounds of people talking. I could already tell who it was, by their voice.

"I hope she stays for the rest of her high school years." Charlie said, sounding hopeful. I heard fidgeting then, "Me too Charlie. She's my best friend, I love her." Alice said, sounding sad. "I don't want to lose her again," She added.

"You guys were as thick as thieves." Charlie said, chuckling.

"Of course." Alice said, I could hear the smile in her voice. I felt guilty for causing her so much pain.

"Bella you could stop pretending now." Alice said, she and my dad started laughing.

"I'm up. I'm up." I retorted. This caused them to laugh harder. "Alice what're you doing here?"

"Wow Izzy. I feel totally loved." Noticing the annoyed look on my face, she smiled and said, "I came here to talk to you."She turned to Charlie, "Excuse us, Rose, Izzy, and I will be in Izzy's room."

"Rose is here?" I asked, looking around for her.

"I'll go get her; she's waiting in the car." Alice said as she was walking towards the door.

So while Alice went to go get Rose, I walked upstairs, to my room. I waited for about a minute and a half when Rose and Alice walked in, determined looks on their face. Uh oh…

"Tell us everything." Alice said, excitedly, while Rose closed the door. What is she talking about? Rose apparently noticed my confused face, because she said accusingly, "Bells, almost everybody was talking about how you and Edward were on the track holding each other, for quite a long time."

"I was only talking to him." I said, innocently. Rose squinted her eyes in response.

"Izzy!" Alice whined, "You must tell us the whole story!" She pouted her lips and made puppy eyes. Damn her. After two hours of explaining, repeating, and explaining (again) what had happened, Rose and Alice seemed satisfied.

They looked at each other with knowing glances, and then smiled at me.

"Guys, I'm going to hit the hay. I'm still so freaking tired." I said, trying to cover the mother of all yawns.

"Alright." Alice said. They were heading out the door, when Alice stopped and said, "Izzy, I almost forgot, we're going shopping after school tomorrow and after school Friday." She turned around to look at me and laughed at my expression. I'm pretty sure my nose was scrunched up, my mouth was in a grimace, my eyes wide, and my face beet red.

"Why do we have to go twice in one week?" I asked, groaning. She ignored me and smiled all the way out my door.

I went into the shower to take a bath, put my pajamas on and then headed to bed. I slept almost instantly.


	6. Shopping and Edward

CH 6- Shopping and Edward

BPOV

Alice, Rose and I were at the mall in Port Angeles. Ang had called earlier and said she'd meet up with us later, at around seven.

We were entering our fifth store, Victoria's Secret. _I'm in my personal hell_, I thought, hastily.

"Okay girls, whose swimsuit do we look for first?"

"I think it should be Bella's," Rose said.

"Oh no… Rose you should go first, I mean we are coming back Friday after school right?" I asked.

"Hmmm… ok." Alice agreed uncertainly.

We browsed through the whole store; Alice found 5 swimsuits she really liked, honestly they all look fabulous on her. It was Rose's turn; she ended up buying 4 swimsuits.

An hour later we left the mall with roughly twenty-five bags.

NOTE TO SELF: After this Friday, NEVER shop with Alice again, maybe Rose but never Alice, DEFINITELY NOT.

We met up with Angela at the buffet about a block away from the bookstore.

"So," Angela said cautiously. "Watcha guys buy?"

That set Alice off. Rose and I exchanged glances and started laughing our heads off.

When Alice finally finished explaining what we bought, what it looked like, where it was bought, where we'd wear it to, what it was for, and who we bought it for, we were all exhausted.

"So we go home now?" I asked hopefully

"Oki doki artichoke!" Alice replied. "Who's riding with me?"

"I'm riding with Ang!" I said, rather cautiously. Rose begged with her eyes as I glanced her way.

Alice noticed this and asked in a rather demonic manner, "Hey why don't y'all ride wit me?

"Are you kidding me Alice?" I roared. "You drive like an effin maniac!" Everyone's eyes were upon us, I immediately blushed.

"Oh puh-lease! My driving doesn't even compare to Edward's." she replied gleefully.

Once Edward's name was mentioned, I suddenly shut my mouth.

Noticing my reaction, Ang said, "Bells… are you feeling alright?"

"Yea...totally," trying my best not to blow my cover. All three girls looked at me strangely. So I tried to reassure them. "I'm. Feeling. Okay."

"Whatever." Alice replied, ignoring my glare. Turning to Ang, she continued

"You're shopping with us Friday right?"

"Yeah of course," was her reply.

In my opinion, Friday came all too quick.

Friday morning, I was as grumpy as well— grumpy in Snow White. The whole week Edward and I haven't looked at each other; neither acknowledged each other's presence.

Alice slept over Thursday night. So we were up until 5 in the morning. I had fun with her, but I wished we had more time to sleep.

I got up, hoping I wouldn't wake Alice up.

_Too late. _I thought to my self I thought to myself as I turned my head, only to see Alice at the foot of my bed, smiling brightly.

Before I could ask why, she said, "Bells. You know, one of the top five reasons, I like sleeping over at your house, is because I get to play _BellaBarbie." _I felt my smile turn into a frown and threw the bedcovers over my head, groaning.

"Isabella Marie Swan! I haven't got to do your make up in over five years! YOU owe me!" she said sternly. Well, she got me there.

I watched and listened as she ushered me to the bathroom. I was shocked that I wasn't embarrassed or shy; I was actually quite nonchalant, changing in her presence.

"Bella! I'm going to make you super-duper gorgeous!" Alice cried enthusiastically.

"Okay jus don't… y'know." She gave me a knowing glance then shrugged her shoulders.

An hour and fifteen minutes later, I felt extremely out of my comfort zone. I was wearing a deep red, two inch wide strap, baby top over skinny-black jeans. I wore red flats and my wrists jingled with a thousand bangles. And to top it off my hair was straightened then put up into a tight, high pony tail; there were no bangs in my face, whatsoever.

I turned to Alice, "Don't you think this is too much?"

"Of course not silly! You look fabulous!" I could tell she had something up her sleeve, but decided not to question her about it.

Alice twirled around in front of the mirror, and inspected herself. She looked absolutely gorgeous, she had on a designer transparent dress, that wasn't even long enough to reach mid-thigh. The only think restricting her dress, was a big, buckled, brown belt. Under her dress, she wore designer skinny jeans and on her feet, were two-inch heels.

I shuddered.

"Izzy, c'mon let's go." She urged.

"Alright."

When we came downstairs, Charlie was sitting in a kitchen chair, reading a newspaper his back was turned to us.

"Ahem" I said. He turned around and smiled.

"Izzy, you look just like your mom. You're growing into a beautiful young lady." Yuck. This was too _HALLMARK_ for me.

"Okay Charlie. Alice and I are heading out now. See you around eight!" He looked at me confused.

Before I could say anything, Alice jumped in and said, "Oh… Bella didn't tell you?" She gave me a confusing glance. "We're going to the mall."

"Will anyone else be there?" he asked, grudgingly.

"Rose and Ang." I replied

"All righty then. See you later." He said, sorrowfully.

When Alice and I got out of her Porsche, everybody who was in the parking lot, stopped and stared. I felt extremely self conscious. Alice told me not to worry. I looked "Unapproachable and Sexy." That gave me so much confidence Sarcasm.

We met up with Rose, Emmett and Jasper at the school entrance, they all had bug eyes.

"Whoa! Hot mama!" cried Emmett as he twirled me around. I shot a look at Rose, her eyes were piercing. Uh oh…

"You know what?" I began, irritated. "Emmett, you like Rose right?" My question caught him off guard, but he still nodded a yes. I turned to Rose, "And you like Em?"

"Well—I –he – we're…" I shot a stern glance at her. "Yeah…" She replied reluctantly.

"Then what are you two waiting for?" I cried out loud, "Kiss, then go out!" I looked over to Alice an Jasper, they were looking from me—to Rose—back to me—to Emmett, and Then to Rose again. I smiled evilly at myself, and then pranced off.

APOV

"I don't believe it!" I cried after a few seconds Bella left, "I didn't even know you guys liked each other!"

"It's not a good time babe." Jasper whispered into my ear. I shuddered.

"So…" Emmett said, knocking me our of my thoughts, "you wanna…maybe—"

"Sure." Rose said, then blushed when she realized he hadn't even finished what he was about to say." 'WOW' I thought. 'I have never seen her this insecure.'

"Oh well—I mean—um… what were you saying?" Rose added, flushed.

Scratch that! I have never seen her insecure in my life! Rose was about to say something else when Emmett kissed her, and boy—what a kiss! I thought Rose was going to push him off, but at first she didn't do anything, and then responded. Like GROSS! All around me, I could hear boys cheering and whistling…'Morons' I thought to myself

I was just about to say something really inappropriate, when Jasper tugged my arm and said, "Let's go."

While Jasper pulled me away, I kept glancing over at Rose and Emmett—who were still sucking each other's face.

BPOV

First period came, and by then, everybody know what had happened. Almost every girl in my first period came up to me and begged for details. Angela as usual, didn't. I was beginning to really appreciate her

By third period, I was exhausted. I sat at my desk and laid my head down.

"Tough day?" snickered a pity-less velvet voice. Edward. I raised my head and stuck my tongue at him, then laid my head back down. Not so gently as I intended. I ended up slamming my head against the table. His laughter surprised me. It was a soft musical laugh. It was beautiful.

"Congrats with Rose and Em. About time. You'd think after two weeks of talking and flirting, they'd finally get together." I was caught off guard, so all I could do was stare at him, openmouthed. God, I must've looked stupid

Third period and lunch passed by, I was still in shock. I entered the gym and walked straight to the girl's locker room. I came out wearing sweats and a tee. I greeted Mike. We started walking towards Jasper, who was talking to a slim-blonde headed girl. I think her name was Tara or something.

I was about to reach Jasper, when somebody pulled my hand, turning me around. I was surprised to see Edward gazing at me, smiling that stupid-crooked-adorable grin of his.

"What do you think you are doing?" I asked, aware of our embrace.

"You know what Swan?" He asked, totally unaware of all the stares we were receiving. "I have no idea!" He let go of then. Ruffling his hair, he went to talk to a group of guys standing at our left.

EPOV

Today I felt chipper. I never feel chipper. I didn't even know the reason why. I was in my Volvo driving to school, listening to 98.3. I grinned.

I looked to the lane besides me, and saw Alice's Porsche. I revved my engine, wanting to get to school first; I was right besides her car, when I saw Bella. I hadn't even known she was there. I slowed down, and let them pass; hoping none of them saw me, although the look on Alice's face said otherwise.

I turned into the gate, slowly driving into the junior's parking lot and then parked. As I got out of my car, Alice and Bella got out of theirs. I looked at Bella, my breath caught and my heart skipped a beat. She looked absolutely, no doubt about it, beautiful. My friend James, was standing not two cars away from them, he looked at Bella like she was desert. I growled.

I looked back at Bella, and saw her talking to Emmett, then at Rose. I wondered what she was doing; I started walking closer, until Alice saw me and smiled. I stopped. 'She's trying to set us up…' I mused. Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rose and Emmett making out. Bella, Bella, Bella….

First and second period passed by and when the bell rang signaling third, I practically ran. Eager to see her, hear her talk, something…

Like the first day of school, I knew right when Bella entered. She looked exhausted; no doubt it was because of the loads of questions that were dumped on her, concerning the incident this morning. She walked straight to her chair, besides me, and sat down—immediately putting her head down.

"Tough day?" I asked, not meaning to sound like a jerk. Instead of retorting back, she simply stuck her tongue out at me and put her head back down. I heard a big bang, Bella starting rubbing her forehead, she was wincing. I laughed.

Gathering myself, I spoke again, "Congrats with Rose and Em. About time. You'd think after two weeks of talking and flirting, they'd finally get together." I looked at her, wondering what she'd say; instead of saying something, all she did was stare.

The rest of the period, we hadn't said another word to each other. I was extremely disappointed. Lunch was uneventful, I tried to avoid talking to James because of what he did this morning, but in the end, we were talking and planning what we were going to do after school.

Fourth period came and I ran my way to the gym. I was one of the first boys in the locker room, I came out dressed in jerseys and a tee, and was pleased to find Bella already out. She was talking to Mike Newton; a wave of jealousy came over me. She was just about to walk over to Jasper, I ran up behind her, and grabbed her hand. I turned her around so that one arm was around her waist, the other around her neck. She looked shocked, and then the most delicious shade of crimson filled her cheeks. I smiled.

"What do you think you are doing?" she asked; unaware of what she was doing to me.

"You know what Swan?" I said, pretending not to notice all the stares targeted at us, "I have no idea!" I let go of her and walked away, running my hand through my hair, confused.

BPOV

The whole day, all I could think about was him. I didn't even complain when after school, Alice bought me a ton of clothes. We went from store to store buying swim suits, tees, tank tops, lingerie, shoes, jeans, shorts, skirts, everything…

After a while, Alice finally noticed my cooperating attitude, then smiled over at Rose and Ang. All three turned to me and hounded me with questions.

"What's up?"-Ang

""Who's the guy?"-Rose

"It's Edward, isn't it?"-Alice

I looked at them, smiling mysteriously, then walked away, leaving them hanging. They all ran up to me, bombarding me for answers.

I turned to them and asked, "Does Edward have a girlfriend?"

Instead of answering me, Alice shrieked, "I knew it! I knew it!" She jumped up and down, clapping her hands happily, causing a scene.

"What're you talking about Alice?"

"You like Edward?" She had a knowing look on her face, I snarled.

"Ugh, like I would ever like that jerk."

"Then why'd you ask if he had a girlfriend?" Rose asked, seeming pretty confident.

"Only wondering…" I replied, truthfully. "I mean, who'd want to go out with him? He's rude, conceited, inconsiderate, mean, stuck up, and extremely annoying!"

Rose and Ang just shrugged. Alice, of course, couldn't leave it at that.

"Yeah right Izzy! You know you like hi! It's so obvious, what? With the way you two look at each other…" she trailed off.

"Whatever Alice." I replied, and then added, "Let's go eat."

Everyone agreed. We all decided on this little café call, "Panini's". We sat at a booth and a waiter came over. I recognized him immediately.

It was James, that friend of Edward's. Alice glared at him, Rose, Ang, and I chose to ignore him. He wouldn't have that.

"Hello Bella. It is VERY nice to see you again." The way he said my name made me feel dirty and exposed, but I ignored him still.

"Fuck off James." Alice growled, surprising Angela.

"My oh my, Alice," he said dragging out her name, "you have such a potty mouth, but that's okay. I can fix that." He added, in a suggestive tone. Alice looked about ready to beat the schnitzel out of him.

So I interrupted, before all hell would break loose, "you know what guys?" All heads turned to me. "I'm not really hungry for Italian right now. What about you guys?"

Thankfully they agreed.

We left Panini's silently and made our way to Alice's Porsche.

After ten minutes of silent driving, I groaned, and then said, "Wow Alice. You really told him."

She squinted her eyes, puffed her cheeks, pursed her lips, shook her head making her hair go astray, and said, "HE makes me soooo mad." We were quiet for a moment, and then we all burst out laughing.


	7. Ben's Party

CH 7- Ben's Party

BPOV

Saturday came and Rose, Ang, and I were at Alice's house, planning on what to wear. I was planning and getting ready later on, but Alice woke me up, way too early, in a way I did not particularly like.

_FLASHBACK_

_I was still sleeping soundly at eleven o'clock in the morning, when the bed started to shake._

_Too confused to think it through, I thought it was an earthquake. I stumbled out of bed and started running around my room, panicking and muttering how I needed to warn Charlie._

_I started picking up a few things, as fast as I could, which included my favorite CD, my album, and my favorite pair of converses. _

_It wasn't until a few moments later when I finally heard the laughing. I stopped and turned my head. Alice was on the floor clutching her stomach and laughing so hard there were tears in her eyes. Rose was bent over, trying to catch her breath but started laughing all over again. Ang was trying to stifle her laughter but failed. All eyes turned to me, and took in my appearance, my rumpled clothes, disheveled hair, wild eyes, and defensive stance; they all started laughing even more._

_I tried to regain what dignity I had left, but lost it all, by falling flat on my face. They laughed even harder, unable to see the humor I this, I ignored them, and made my way into my bathroom._

_END FLASHBACK_

Ang and I were sitting on the couch, in Alice's bedroom, while Rose and Alice were on the bed; we were discussing what to wear. We had been in there for about half an hour. Tired, I got up, telling them I'd be downstairs. They nodded their okay.

I was walking down the stairs, when I began to fall… again. Blocking my fall, a pair of strong arms, caught me, and helped me up to my feet. It was Carlisle.

"Thanks," I said, embarrassed.

"No problem," He said, chuckling, "if you'd have tripped over and cracked her skull, what would I tell Charlie?" He laughed then made sure I was okay, and then went into his office.

'Hmmm…' I thought, 'what a lovely sense of humor."

I continued my descend downstairs, making it to the bottom safely, and made my way towards the kitchen. I fixed myself a cup of coffee, and sat on the couch, hoping to get some peace and quiet.

A quarter of an hour later, I felt someone gently shaking me awake. I hadn't even realized I had slept, rubbing my eyes; I looked up into the emerald green eyes of Edward Cullen. His eyes were so dazzling, they made my heart flutter. Miraculously, I looked away.

"Are you guys getting ready for Ben's party?" he asked, his eyes twinkling.

Refusing to allow myself to be dazzled by him, I answered, "Yeah. Are you going?"

"Nah. I have better things to do." He replied, waving my question away.

"Oh, like what?" My question caught him off guard, so he didn't say anything. I laughed, picked up my coffee cup, and headed back into the kitchen.

He ran in front of me asking, "What kind of party is it?"

"Pool." His eyes seemed to light up.

"Hmmm… Maybe I'll consider it."

"Okay, maybe I'll see you there." I replied, sounding like I didn't care whether or not he came. Although, a little voice in my head thought the opposite.

We were quiet for a few moments until he said, "You know, you're the first person I met, who got tired after drinking coffee."

I blushed.

"Well, I'm not like other people." I replied. 'God,' I thought to myself, 'I'm 'effin flirting.'

I snapped my attention back to him, he was saying something. I think he said, "No, you're special." But I thought, no, he wouldn't think something like that. He's not that kind of guy.

I turned around and started walking away.

EPOV

I woke up to the sounds of girls laughing. 'Alice…' I thought, angrily.

I got up out of bed, and opened my door a crack. Alice, Rose, and Angela were laughing recalling how they made Bella wake up. It was something about an earthquake and screaming. I was about to tell them to shut up, when Bella passed by, too drowsy to notice me.

Instead of screaming at them, I turned around, smiling stupidly. I went into my bathroom, took a quick shower, brushed my teeth, and got ready for the day. I took out my iPod from my drawers, and listened to Linkin Park while I made my way to the stairs.

I came out of my room just in time to see my dad help Bella up, no doubt she fell again. I smiled. That girl is always falling. They talked for a bit then my dad made his way to his office. Instead of going downstairs, I followed him.

I knocked on his door.

"Come in Edward." My dad answered. I stepped into his office and looked at him.

"What do you need son?" he asked.

"Uh…nothing. But, when did Bella come this morning?" He raised one of his eyebrows, took off his glasses, and propped one elbow on his desk; no doubt he knew I already knew when she arrived.

"Edward, son, if you want to be her friend again, or perhaps more…" he wiggled his eyebrows, suggestively, "then perhaps you should act that way." He said matter-of-factly.

"Who said I wanted to be more than friends with her?" I asked, "or even friends even!" I added before stomping off.

Before I left, I heard him sigh and mutter something about me being immature and oblivious.

I went downstairs, only to find Bella asleep on the couch, the coffee cup next to her, half empty. I watched her, her face looked so different when she was asleep. I was about to leave her be, when she muttered my name. I snapped my head back at her, she was still asleep. 'Sleep talking?' I thought to myself. I stayed there, in case she said more.

She hadn't said anything for a while, so I was leaving, but then she said, "Don't leave me." I went back to her, feeling guilty I almost left her, then remembered she was only sleeping.

Feeling ridiculous, I decided to wake her up. She opened her eyes, rubbing them then looked at me. She looked startled and surprised. We stayed there, staring at each other, and then she looked away.

I didn't want her to leave, so I said, "Are you guys getting ready for Ben's party?"

"Yeah. Are you going?" She said, looking flustered.

"Nah. I have better things to do." I replied, hoping she couldn't tell I was lying.

"Oh, like what?" her question caught me off guard, so I didn't say anything. She laughed, picked up her coffee cup, and headed back into the kitchen.

I wanted to talk to her some more, so I ran up to her and asked, "What kind of party is it?"

"Pool." Hmmm… interesting.

"Hmmm… Maybe I'll consider it." I said, already deciding I would go.

"Okay, maybe I'll see you there." She replied. Good answer…

We were quiet for a few moments then I said, "You know, you're the first person I met, who got tired after drinking coffee."

She blushed, making me smile.

"Well, I'm not like other people." She answered. 'No, you're special.' I thought, not knowing I said that aloud.

She looked at me confused for a moment, and then walked away. I sighed.

BPOV

I walked up the stairs, wondering if he would come. I stopped mid-way turned to look back at him, and found he was looking at me. I blushed, and then ran the rest of the way to Alice's room.

I burst into the door, startling them, and closed the door immediately.

"So… Bella…" I turned to Alice, "what's got you all worked up?" she asked, decisively.

"Um—nothing—it was nothing—I—I swear." I said trying to avoid the questions, I was sure they were going to drop on me.

Rose and Ang started giggling, and I started to wonder what was up.

"Okay guys, spill." I said, determined to get the truth out of them.

They looked at each other, then Alice stepped forward and starting confessing.

"Well Bella, you had been gone for a long time, so we all decided we would go down stairs and get you, but then we stopped cause we saw my dear brother Edward, sitting by your side while you were sleeping." Oh shit… She noticed my guilty, blushing face; she nodded slowly and smiled, and then continued, "Yes Bella, we saw. Anyway, we all sat down on the stairs, listening in, and then you said Edward's name—

"Oh my God…" I said, interrupting Alice, I was probably blushing ten shades of red by now.

"Yeah, and then you said, 'Don't leave me'… it was actually very sweet, because he was just about to leave you alone, but then decided the better of it, and stayed. Afterwards, he woke you up, and you guys were staring at each other, it was soooo adorable—

"I don't want to hear anymore!" I cried, covering my ears, blushing.

Alice wouldn't have that though, because she had rose restrain me and Ang cover my mouth with duct tape. Yes, they went that far.

"Oh no Izzy, you are going to hear this." Alice laughed. "Well, you got up, and he looked so broken and confused, he ran up to you, and you guys started FLIRTING! Izzy—oh girlie… I had never seen you make a move on anyone, you really surprised us. Then, you guys looked like you were about to say goodbye so we all came silently back in here, desperately waiting for you to come. Except, you took longer than we expected, so we know there is still some dish to spill, and you are going to tell us Izzy." She seemed to think about something, then added, "whether you like it or not."

Ang ripped the duct tape off my mouth, causing me to yell, "Fudge Ang! You could've been at least a bit gentle! Like Sugar Honey Iced Tea man… GOD!" I rubbed my mouth, glaring at Ang.

She looked so sorry and like she was about to cry, I forgave her then gave her a hug. She smiled.

"You are still telling us Bells." Alice said, reminding me why I had duct tape on my mouth on the first place.

"Nothing happened…" I said, not meeting their eyes.

"Yeah right, and pigs can fly." Rosa said, sarcastically.

"Fine. Fine." I said, Alice jumped up on the bed, and listened, like how a ten year old pays attention to T.V—very intently. "I told him that maybe I'd see him at Ben's party, and then he said I was the first person to sleep after drinking coffee, and then I told him I wasn't like anybody else—

"No you aren't." Alice said, agreeing. I gave her a stern look, she said, "Sorry. I couldn't help it."

"Anyway," I continued, "I started walking up the stairs, but then I wanted to see if he was still there, so I looked back, and I saw him still there, staring at me. I was embarrassed so I ran back up here, as fast as I could." They all looked like they were daydreaming; I had decided I wouldn't tell them about how I was thinking he said I was special.

"That is so cute…" Ang said, trailing off.

Rose sighed, and then said, "You guys are totally falling for each other, and you guys don't even know it."

"He doesn't like me like that, Rose." I said, sadly.

"Yeah he does—but if he doesn't…" Alice said, smiling, "you like HIM like that."

"No I don't" I didn't even sound convincing to myself, and by the look on their faces, I wasn't convincing to them either.

Ang checked the time on her cell, a panicked look crossed her face, "Oh my God! Alice, you and I are supposed to be at Ben's! It's already nine!"

Alice looked at her, a smile on her face, "His house is not even thirty minutes away, we said we'd be there by ten anyway" Turning to Rose and me, she added, "you guys should come with us, it'll be fun." She promised.

"Okay." Rose and I said at the same time, laughing.

About twenty minutes later, we arrived a Ben's place, I had never been here before, and I was shocked. His house was almost as huge as Alice's. Dang Asians are so rich. We walked up the driveway, and Ang rang the doorbell once we got to the door.

His mom answered, and then ushered us in.

"Ben's in the back. Ang you know the way." His mom said, smiling.

We made our way to the backyard, and my mouth dropped open. It was huge! There was a big pool, a gazebo, pool chairs, and a yard to the left.

God…Asians' are rich. I didn't know I had said this aloud, until Ben said, "Yes. Yes we are."

Embarrassed, I blushed, they all started laughing, and then I joined in.

We started setting up, a few minutes later. We got circle lights, and torches and made it look like a luau-slash-go with the flow, kind of party. It looked fabulous, and we were all proud four hours later.

Alice, Rose, and I had to get going, we were headed to Rose and my house to get the clothes we were wearing, and then head back to Alice's house, to get ready there. Ang decided to stay, to help with all the cooking, and to add last minute touch ups.

We already went to Rose's house. She decided to fix her make up and her hair at Alice's house, and dress up at hers. She wore a green and blue two piece that really "extenuated her goodies" as Alice put it. She looked like a cross between a sex-goddess and a swim-suit model on the cover of Victoria secret, even without her make up or hair done.

Over that, she wore a white, trapeze, cover-up flowy, swimsuit dress **(Outfit on profile)**. She looked positively, absolutely gorgeous—nothing new there… no pun intended.

When we came to my house, Rose and Ang followed me up to my room.

"I can pick out my own clothes," I said, "so thanks, but no thanks."

"Oh, quit it Izzy" Alice said, pushing her way into my room, going straight into my drawers. "I have just the thing; it's the swimsuit I picked out, at Victoria Secret, yesterday." She said.

Swimsuit Alice picked out…? Oh no….

"No Alice, no I am not wearing that flimsy thing. I won't." I looked at Rose, hoping she would back me up. She smiled evilly and started helping Alice look for that thing…

Aargh! Traitor…

When we were browsing through Victoria Secret, she saw the swimsuit and screamed. She said it was on the "50 Sexiest Must-Haves" on Victoria Secret's summer collection. It was a black two piece that helped push up my chest—I didn't even know my chest was big enough to be pushed up.

They found it, and ran out of the room, because sure enough, I started chasing them, telling them to hand it over.

I was running down the stairs, forgetting I was the person who had the worst balance in the world, and tripped over the third step. Luckily, the stairway wasn't too wide, or else I would've had more time and space to fall.

Alice and Rose noticed my dilemma and ran over. Helping my up, Alice brushed the dirt off my clothes, and made sure I wasn't damaged or anything.

Making sure I stood steadily on both feet, I inspected myself and made sure I was okay.

"Sheesh Bella! You could've gotten yourself killed!" Rose screeched.

"Well, it is you and Alice's fault!' I said. I looked over at Alice, she looked like she was about to burst into tears. Oh crap. "Alice I'm sorry."

"It's not that, Rose is right, you could've died…" she trailed off.

"I'm sorry for worrying you guys." I said. Alice and Rose looked at my, their expressions softened, and then they rushed over and hugged me.

Wiping her tears, Alice gathered herself, "C'mon you guys lets go get ready."

We were in Alice's room, she was trying to persuade me into wearing that flimsy thing and to tell you the truth, and it was beginning to work.

Alice had on a pink one piece with a straight neckline. **(Outfit on profile). not good at explaining it myself **She looked stunning. She didn't want to arrive at Ben's just wearing a swimming suit, so she put on a brown cover-up and she had on brown and pink flip flops from _Roxy._

"Time for you to get ready Bells!" Alice chimed.

I groaned, but followed her none-the-less. It was about two hours later, I already had on my two-piece. It was black and, in the middle, the part where the cups connect was a single gold ring, holding it together. Rose already did my make-up, and we were all ready. I grabbed a white-smocked cover-up dress and pulled it over my head. **(Outfit on profile). **We were all ready to go. We decided we would drive Rosalie's BMW M3 convertible instead of Alice's Porsche.

"Bella you look hot!" Alice complimented, I blushed.

"Bella, you need to show off your goodies more often." Rose put in, which made me blush even more. They all laughed, and we drove off.

We arrived at Ben's party, and most everybody at school was there. That's when I finally realized that Tanya might be there, or even James. I shuddered, I didn't want them to be there, but it was Ben's party, he could invite anyone he wanted.

We came to the entrance, there were two huge, big, bulky guys standing there.

The later of the two said, "Names."

We each called out our names, while he checked us off. Then the other guard opened the gate and allowed us in. Alice and Rose went ahead, while I stayed.

I looked pointedly at the guard with the clipboard of names and asked, "Is there an Edward Cullen on your list?"

He looked at me then said, "Sorry Miss. I am not allowed to give out names, you understand?"

I decided on a different kind of tact. I lifted my cover-up dress a little more, and put one leg out. I was glad Alice put some kind of lotion thing on m y legs to make it shine.

Note to Self: Thank Alice later.

I walked up to him and put one leg over his, intertwining them. I smiled lustfully at him and tilted my head to the side.

He smiled then said, "Well, well, well. What was it you wanted, cause I can give you so much more."

"Edward Cullen." A voice behind me said. I snapped my head around and looked behind me, to the amused face of none other, than the infamous Edward Cullen. I blushed furiously.

I let go of the poor man, who looked disappointed.

"I didn't think you were that desperate Izzy." Edward teased.

"Oh shut up!" I said, irritated.

"Oh Bella, you couldn't have Edward so you just had to go for the closest male in view." I looked over to who was talking, that's when I noticed _her._ Tanya.

"Tanya," I said sweetly, then changed my tone of voice, "Get a life!"

"You can pass." The guard said to Edward. He turned to Tanya, "name?"

"Tanya Williams." She replied haughtily.

The guard looked down at his list, "Sorry you're not on."

The look on Tanya's face was priceless, I snorted and went inside.

I entered and everybody was either dancing, swimming, or just chilling. The DJ was extremely rocking the place, it looked fantastic.

Ben and Ang greeted me when I came inside. They asked what happened, I told them, and then we all burst out laughing. We met Emmett, Rose, Jasper, and Alice at the edge of the pool.

"What's up guys?" I asked. Emmett and Jasper turned around, their jaws dropped.

"Bella?" Emmett asked shocked "Is that you?"

"Hey boys!" I replied laughing, "Like it?"

"Dude Bella, you look hot!" Emmett cried. This made me laugh even harder.

Alice had a smug look on her face and Rose was just trying to stifle a laugh. Jasper was just standing there, staring. I posed for them while Alice cheered me on and Rose laughed. Suddenly, before you could say '_Diminutive Juvenile' _someone picked me up, and threw me into the pool. I screamed. When I came up for air, Alice looked shocked, Rose was looking at like she was going to kill Emmett, and Jasper and Emmett were laughing hysterically.

"Emmett, man that was priceless!" Jasper yelled, still laughing. Emmett was still laughing until I looked at him, he instantly shut up.

The look on Emmett's face made me instantly forgive him. Although just to show him I meant business, I got out of the pool, and shook myself off.

"Em, that's okay. I forgive you." I said innocently, he looked at me and sighed in relief.

I went to the back of him, then pantsed him and pushed him in the pool. It was Rose and Alice's turn to laugh hysterically and Jasper's turn to look shocked. I grabbed Alice's and Rose's hand and hugged them. Then when the DJ started playing 'Stuck' by Allister, we all started dancing.

_Late night  
Long day  
Somehow it's never quite enough  
And maybe  
I'm lazy  
It's been so long sometimes I feel like giving up_

I twirled around started jumping up and down while Alice and Rose giggled and danced along beside me.

_So now I'm staying up all night  
Cause I'm trying to understand  
Why I feel like I've been stuck here forever  
I'll break out today  
I'm throwing my life away  
You don't even know  
I'll break out today  
I'm throwing my life away  
You don't even know_

Maybe  
I'll get through  
Just one more day of feeling dumb  
I don't think  
I need to  
Get over this until I feel like growing up

Emmett and Jasper joined us, and we all started jumping up and down, laughing, and having a good time. Then out of the corner of my eye I saw Edward, standing off to the side, a lot of girls surrounded him, but he wasn't even paying attention to them, he was looking at me, a smile playing on his lips. He started walking over.

_So now I'm staying up all night  
Cause I'm trying to understand  
Why I feel like I've been stuck here forever  
I'll break out today  
I'm throwing my life away  
You don't even know  
I'll break out today  
_

_I'm throwing my life away  
You don't even know_

I was trying to ignore him, but every time he got closer, my heart started beating faster. He finally reached us, and I pretended to ignore him. He grabbed my hand then tried to dance. It made me giggle, seeing him dance, but I danced alongside him anyway.

_I'll break out today  
I'm throwing my life away  
You don't even know_

I started to fall. 'Crap' I thought to myself. Suddenly someone picked me up off my feet, bridal style, and jumped in the pool with me.

_I'll break out today  
I'm throwing my life away  
You don't even know_

I was underwater and when I opened my eyes, I was looking into Edward's smiling face. He held both my hands underwater and twirled us around. I couldn't help but smile. I swam under him and pulled one of his arms, he grabbed my leg, and it was his turn to swim under me.

Reluctantly, I had to come up for air, and by the look of his face when he came up, he was disappointed as well. Why?

I came out of the pool and took off my cover-up dress and cannon-balled back in. When I went back up for air, Alice and Rose had stopped dancing and they were staring at me. I smiled, and told them to come closer; I had to tell them something. They came closer, and I grabbed both their arms, and pulled them in.

Rose came back up for air them pushed me into the water, I came back out sputtering water out, and then she laughed.

"Isabella Marie Swan! How could you?" Alice screeched, but then she looked at herself and then at me, and then her face softened and we all started laughing.

"Oh Alice, you know you love me!" I said, still laughing.

"Of course!" Alice agreed.

I turned around and Edward was standing at the side of the pool, talking to some guys, I smiled evilly, and then pulled him in.

He came up for air, looking confused, saw me, and then started laughing. His adorable, sexy, mouth-dropping, heart-stopping—

What am I thinking? I chided myself.

He got out of the pool, helped me out, and we both headed into the gazebo.

When we came inside, some people were already in there. It was Mike, Lauren, Jessica, Tyler, Ben, Angela, and Eric. We sat down, causing all of them to stare at us, I blushed.

"So Eddie…" Lauren started, "I didn't know you and _her_" she glared at me when she said this, "were going out."

"Oh?" Edward said, what is he playing at? "Well we've been going out for awhile now." He leaned down towards me, and whispered in my ear, "Play along."

I nodded, and he smiled, causing my heart to flutter. He started leaning in towards me, as he came closer, me eyes got wider. He was less than a centimeter away, then Alice and Jasper came in. I looked away, and just before that, I got a look at his face. He was annoyed.

I turned my head to Alice; she had a knowing grin plastered on her face. I scowled. Rose and Emmett came in, noticed the tension in the air, and looked around. Not seeming to get the reason why, they just shrugged.

"Who's up for truth or dare?" Emmett asked.

I was about to decline, but Alice grabbed my hand, and we all gathered in a circle. I was stuck between Alice and Edward. _Great_…


	8. It started as a simple game

CH 8- Forever Young

BPOV

As I sat down between Alice and Edward, Edward looked up at me and smiled reassuringly. I smiled back, trying to reassure myself. It didn't work.

"Who's first?" Alice asked.

"I'll go first." I volunteered, just trying to get it over with. I turned over to Emmett, "Truth or dare?"

"Dare." he replied, rather confident. It was obvious he thought I couldn't do anything that bad.

He was so wrong.

"I dare you to kiss Mike on the mouth…French, and he has to kiss back, or else it won't count."

He looked absolutely horrified, I smiled internally at myself.

"But—

"Sorry Em, no buts." I interrupted. Rose looked like she was about to pop a socket, Alice was laughing, and so was Jasper.

I looked over at Mike, his expression was priceless. His eyes popped, his mouth hung open, and his face was red. I complimented myself mentally; finally someone was blushing rather than me.

"C'mon Em, you have to do this sooner or later." Edward gloated.

Then, Emmett stood up, and walked determinedly over to Mike. Mike now looked absolutely terrified. I couldn't blame him. Emmett was now kneeling in front of him, he seemed to whisper something to him, Mike didn't look as scared anymore. In fact, he almost looked smug. I wonder what Emmett said. A second later, Emmett was kissing Mike, and boy was it a kiss. I mean like, Mike looked like he was enjoying himself, and when Emmett pulled away and wiped his lips, Mike looked sad. Then he looked at me, and his eyes brightened. I did not want to know why.

"Okay Mike," Emmett started, "Truth or dare?"

"Dare." Mike said, gladly.

"I dare you to go out with Bella for a week, starting tomorrow." He said, smugly.

I roared. I was not going to go out with Mike. I looked over to Mike; he was smiling from ear to ear. I looked over at Alice, she was so shocked, and she was glaring at Emmett. Rose slapped Emmett across the head, making him wince, pulled him to her, and then whispered in his ear.

His eyes opened wide and he mumbled a feeble, "Sorry."

It was Mike's turn. "Rosalie, '_Truth or Dare_?'"

She looked uncertain, and then finally said "Truth."

"Before Emmett came into school, is it true you liked Edward?" I was shocked, I didn't hear about _that_ rumor.

I turned to Edward, he had a smirk on his face, and Emmett was looking at Rose expectantly.

"No. _Although_, I _did_ like enforcing that rumor." She smiled over at Edward, and he smiled back. I wonder what she—or maybe _they_ did.

"Alice," Rose said, "Truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"I dare you to burn at least 5 pounds of the _new_ clothes you bought, in the last two shopping sprees."

"What?!" Alice screeched. "TRAITOR!"

Rose just smiled and shrugged her shoulders, looking innocent.

Thirty minutes later most everybody went, except Edward, Ben, and me. I was still fuming over the dare Emmett gave Mike.

It was Lauren's turn.

"Eddie, truth or dare?" She asked. She sounded like she was about to seduce somebody.

"Dare." He said, waving her away.

She looked satisfied, and he seemed to notice this. "I dare you to French Kiss me for two minutes."

Edward looked at me, judging my reaction, I made my face look emotionless, hoping he wouldn't see through my unreal mask. By the look of his face, he didn't. He walked across the circle to Lauren, she was smiling brightly. She looked like a kid who just got all his wishes come true. Alice, Rose, Angela, and Jasper were looking at me worriedly.

I couldn't take the stares, the situation, the freaking atmosphere, so I stood up and left. As I walked out the door, the tears came running down my face freely. I heard Alice and Rose calling my name and walking after me, but I just broke out into a run and ran out of the party.

I ran straight ahead, hoping and praying to all the Gods that I wouldn't fall. All I could think about was Edward kissing that—that—that _slut._

I was running until I bumped into someone.

"Sorry." I said, wiping away my tears.

"Don't worry Bella; you could bump into me _anytime_." I looked up; it was a guy—or rather a parasite.

It was James. Ugh. He totally killed me mood even more.

"What do you want?" I asked, snarling.

"Oh Bella, wasn't it _you _who bumped into _me?_" he replied, happy with himself.

If only he wasn't taller than me, stronger than me, and faster than me I would have him by the throat. He annoyed the buggers out of me. He was like one a fly, you get disgusted every time it touches you and it won't seem to leave you alone.

"Leave me alone." I said, stiffly.

"Why aren't you just a little feisty?" he asked amused. "That's okay though, I like that in a girl."

He lunged forward and grabbed me towards him. I tried to scream, but his hand clamped my mouth shut. Not knowing what to do, I panicked. I tried to wriggle my out of his hold, and when that didn't work, I tried getting away by force. That just made it worse. He faced me towards him, his right hand still clamping my mouth shut; he pressed my body towards him so I could feel his _rifle. _

He yanked my head backwards, and leaned over me. Then he inhaled me. I felt so useless and vulnerable. I kept wriggling, trying to set myself free, but he held on tighter. I could tell he was getting pissed, so I wriggled even more. His hand was slipping from my mouth, and once I got the chance, I bit him, long and hard.

He yowled in pain, and let go of me instantly, it was just the reaction I had been hoping for. I knew this was my chance, I used all the strength I had, to wrench free of his grasp.

Once he held me no more, I ran, as fast as I could. I didn't really know where I was going. I just kept running and running. I felt stupid, running around Forks, with only a two-piece on—a very revealing two-piece.

"Bella!" a familiar voice called. Edward?

I slowed my pace just a smidge and took a slow turn. I kept backing up as the figure came closer and closer.

"Bella!" The voice called again.

When the figure was close enough that I could see it clearly, I recognized him. His pale skin, bronze hair, emerald green eyes…

"Edward." I gasped.

Once he was close enough that I could touch him, I hugged him fiercely and started sobbing my heart out. He cooed sweet words into my ear and held me close.

After a while, I wiped my tears away, and looked up at him, he stared down at me. His eyes were so distraught and filled with concern, he tried to manage a smile when I looked up at him, but he faltered. Soon, it was the other way around. _I _was the one comforting _him, _while _he _cried onto _my_ shoulders.

"I'm sorry… Sorry…. Sorry... Sorry…" was all he kept muttering into my ear.

"I don't wanna go home." I said, not wanting Charlie to see me like this.

Edward lifted his head, and looked at me. He let go of me with one of his arms, reluctantly, and we both walked away, looking for the parking lot.

I hadn't realized I had gotten so far, we were walking about twenty minutes when we finally found Edward's Volvo, in the mist of a lot of average-looking vehicles.

He opened my door for me, and helped me get in. he probably thought I was still traumatized, but all I could think about was Charlie. I didn't want him to know what happened tonight, I didn't want him to see me like this, and I didn't want anyone to get hurt. After making sure I was alright, Edward closed my car door, and went to the other side of the car, getting in.

Before driving off, he took out his phone, he started dialing numbers. Probably Alice…

"Alice? Edward." I was right.

Before Alice could say anything else, Edward starting talking again, "I found her. I'm taking her over to our place, call Charlie and tell him she's sleeping over, or make up any excuse you can to make Charlie believe she is staying over tonight. I'll tell you the rest later. I'll see you at home. Bye."

He hung up, started the car, and we drove off.

Edward and I were silent the whole ride home, though, was in a while, he would let go of the steering wheel with one hand, and squeeze my hand, reassuringly.

Once we arrived at his house, Rosalie's BMW M3 convertible was already. It made me wonder, how they got here so fast. As soon as Edward parked the car, Alice and Rose came running out, worried looks on their faces.

They both hugged me at once, and I desperately hugged them back. They were on either side of me, leading me into the house.

Once we were inside, they sat me down, and wrapped a towel around me. I kept telling them I was fine, but they wouldn't here anything of it.

"You guys, I'm seriously fine. See no broken bones or anything, just a permanently damaged brain." I said matter-of-factly.

Alice and Rose gasped. "Oh Bella, we're so so—

"I'm only kidding. I was just trying to break the mood." I said, laughing.

Emmett started bursting out laughing, but everybody besides Edward just looked at me in shock. Edward hissed and went straight up to his room.

"What's wrong with him?" I asked, optimistically.

"Bella, he feels guilty about what he did, so do Rose and I. I shouldn't have suggested we play that stupid game." Alice said. This got me so irritated.

"ALICE SHUT UP! I said I was okay, I'm not hurt! It wasn't you or Rose's or _Edward's_ fault! It was mine! _I_ was stupid enough to run outside with only a two-piece on, _I _was the one who ran into James, _I_ was the one running out of the party because of some stupid _dare!_ It was my own damn fault, no one else's—mine!" I stood up, glared at her and Rose, then walked upstairs to Edward.

I knocked on his door. When he didn't answer, I just went inside without permission.

"It wasn't your fault." Were his words, right when I came in.

"Oh shut up Edward." I said, causing him to look up my way. "It was mine. I was the stupid one."

"Stop blaming yourself for my sake." Edward said stiffly.

I walked to his dressers and got a one of his t-shirts, I out it on, and then turned to face him again. He was looking at me, it made me blush. I sat down on the bed, next to him, and turned his head to look at me when he turned away.

"Edward, I don't blame you. It wasn't your fault Lauren dared you to do that, it wasn't Lauren's fault for wanting it either. Who would be crazy enough to not want it?" I said with a giggle. He looked at me suspiciously, and then bowed his head back down.

"Did he hurt you?" he asked, pain sounding clear in his voice.

"No, I think _I _hurt _him._" That caused him to look up again.

"What'd you do?" he asked curious.

"I bit him." I said proudly.

An hour later I told him everything that had happened, from beginning to end. He winced when I said James had pulled me close to him and when I said James inhaled me. Edward kept muttering things like, "I'm gonna kill him." I knew Edward was a killer, so I let that slide.

I didn't think it would be this easy to recall what had happened so soon, but after I did I felt much better. By this time, Edward was holding my hand, and we were leaning against each other. This moment would've felt perfect if not for the reason why.

Then, someone knocked on the door.

"Alice." I said, he nodded in confirmation.

After a few more knocks, Edward said, "Come in."

Alice came in, and right behind her, was Rose. No surprise there. They looked around cautiously, and stood by the doorway. They both looked so sad and sorry, I almost forgave them.

"Bells, we're sorry." Rose said. I hadn't expected her to apologize first, so they caught me off guard.

"Well I'm sorry you're sorry." I said, sourly.

They both flinched, then were about to walk out the door. Rose went out first, and when Alice started going out, she looked back. Tears were brimming in her eyes, and her cheeks were flushed.

'Crap.' I thought to myself.

I ran out the door after them, hearing Edward sigh behind me. Apparently they expected me, because they stood just right next to his door, waiting. I stood in front of them, in only my two-piece, arms folded across my chest. I think I rather looked disconcerting, I smiled inwardly. Then, sooner than I thought I would hold, I had my arms around them tightly, and they the same with me.

Soon we were all back in Edward's room, probably annoying the crap out of him.

"Did you call Charlie?" I asked Alice.

"Yeah, I told him you were going to sleepover for the whole weekend. Isn't that great?" She asked, excitedly.

"Yeah, we'll just have us a jolly good time." We looked at each other, and started laughing again.

"Alice, this is going to be a once in a lifetime offer." I began, catching her attention. "I'm going to go take a shower and since I didn't bring any clothes, I was hoping you could—

"Don't say anything more, I'm on it." Grabbing Rose's hand, they headed to Alice's room. I chuckled watching them go.

It wasn't long before I realized I was in Edward's room, _alone._ I got up, smiling at him, and then left. I went into the bathroom, stripped off my clothes, and started taking a bath. I wanted to take as long as possible, but a shower can only take so long.

I came out, dried myself off, and wrapped my towel around me. Once I stepped out of the bathroom, the cold air washed over me, and goose bumps started showing on my skin. I shivered. Suddenly someone's hands were rubbing my arms, I started feeling warm. I turned around half-expecting to see Edward, but instead it was Esme. I smiled, hiding my disappointment.

"Thanks Esme." I said.

"Bella, you need to take care. You might freeze to death, and I won't have that in my house." She replied firmly.

I nodded my head then turned and walked into Alice's room. I looked around for my clothes, and couldn't find them. Then I saw a note on her bed.

Your clothes are in Edward's room. 

I scowled. I decided I would just get my clothes and come back in here.

I walked into Edward's room, he wasn't in there, and so I grabbed my clothes, and quickly went out. I went back to Alice's room, the door was locked. I knocked.

"Yes?" was Alice's reply.

"Alice if you don't open this door right now, you'll have hell to pay!" I said angrily.

"What?" Alice asked.

I suddenly got the most fantastic idea; I walked back to the bathroom. That door was locked as well.

"Hello? Who's in there?" I asked.

"Edward!" was the reply. I blushed.

I decided against my better judgment, I would change in Edward's room. He was in the shower anyway, it doesn't matter.

I went into his room, and changed as fast as I could. Luckily, I was dressed before Edward came out of the shower. He didn't look surprised, when he saw me in his room. He went straight to his closet and grabbed out an outfit.

"Are you gonna stay there and watch me dress or will you leave me to my privacy?" he asked, amused.

I didn't know what to say, partly because he started changing in front of me like he did it all the time. I'm sure I was blushing real bad; I felt the heat from my face spread throughout my whole body. He threw his towel on his bed, and bent over to pick up his boxers, I gasped. He stopped mid-way and looked up at me. He smiled smugly and started walking closer.

"You like what you see Swan?" he asked pleased with himself.

I gathered myself and met his gaze.

"What's there to see?" I answered his question with a question, he he.

"Oh… _a lot._" He replied suggestively.

"You don't faze me." I said confidently.

He started coming closer.

"You sure?" he asked, his smile widening.

I won't let him faze me; he's an insignificant being in my not so insignificant life. I don't care how he looks; he's not that great anyway.

Oh who am I kidding? He's looked so delicious, standing there, water dripping from his hair, following the contours of his body, smiling that sexy, crooked smile. This is only physical attraction though, so it doesn't matter. It doesn't count.

He stepped closer; he was now only an inch away from me.

"Yeah, I'm sure." I said, making sure my voice doesn't waver. The steam coming off of him, made it even harder than it already was.

He was leaning in towards me, and then Alice burst in. She was about to say something, then saw our position, and then she walked back out.

Edward sighed.

"You better go over there." He said, running his hand through his hair.

"Yeah." I cleared me throat, and walked stiffly outside.

"Oh Bella I'm sorry!" Alice said right when I walked into her room.

"About what?" I asked, my voice wavering.

"Oh you know what." She said, exasperated.

"What happened?" Rose asked.

"IburstintoEdward'sroomandIinterruptedthemwhentheywerejustabouttokiss!" She explained.

"WHAT?!" Rose yelled. "You weren't supposed to go in there! You were supposed to wait for Bella until she came in here or _if_ she came in here!"

"You guys are setting us up?" I asked, getting angry.

"Smooth." Alice said accusingly at Rose.

We all glared at each other for a few minutes, then I got up and left them to work it out themselves.

I went downstairs and found Emmett playing Guitar Hero. Finally, someone who won't get in my face.

"Hey Em." I said, cheerfully. He looked up, and then snapped his head back down when he missed a note.

"Hey. You wanna play?" he asked, still rockin' out.

I wasn't sure, but then I thought of the other things I could do, "Sure."

Thirty minutes later it was a tied game. We both had one two games, we had a deal that whomever won the most out of five would get paid two-hundred bucks from the loser. This game was the tie-breaker. It was my turn to decide which song, we should play. I picked 'Miss Murder' by AFI. He pepped talked himself, while I massaged my thumbs. We had to get ready before playing. Although I kept giggling, because of the things Emmett was saying to himself.

"C'mon man, you are a winner. You are strong. She is weak. You can do this. You are strong. You are strong. You're a winner no matter what. I love you… and so on.

The doorbell rang, and I stood up to answer it. I opened the door, it was Jasper. He joined us on the couch, telling us that he was going to make sure it was a fair game.

Right before we began to play, Alice and Rose came down, and they looked apologetically at me, and then they sat down. Then, Emmett and I started rockin' out. He missed two notes, three minutes into the game, I had missed three. The song was almost finished, and then Rose stood up causing Emmett to look her way, causing _him_ to miss the last two notes. I had won.

"That game was bogus!" Emmett cried. "I got distracted! Do over, do over!"

"Sorry man, it was a fair game. She won." Jasper said.

"Pay up Em." I said happily. He reached into his pocket and took out his wallet. He took out four fifty dollar bills and handed them to me, reluctantly. I smiled and gave him fifty back.

"Keep it. It's yours and besides I'd feel like an even bigger loser if I took it." I shrugged.

"Good game though." I said, trying to cheer him up.

"Verse again tomorrow?" he asked hopefully.

"Sure."

I went upstairs, not wanting to be a fifth wheel, as Alice and Jasper, and Rose and Emmett sucked face. I went into Alice's room, and lay down on her couch. I lay there for a few moments, when Edward came in.

"Want company?" he asked.

"Sure." I said, sitting up. He sat himself next to me, and leaned his head back.

"So what's up?" I asked, not wanting it to get awkward.

"Nothing much." He answered, Then he suddenly asked, "You have a boyfriend in Phoenix?"

"Yeah, but it didn't work out in the end." I said.

"What was his name?"

"Jacob. Jacob Black." I said. "He and I are still really good friends. We figured that we're more like brother—sister, instead of boyfriend—girlfriend."

"Oh. That's cool." He said. "Am I like a brother to you?"

"No…" I said trailing off. "Am I a sister to you?"

"No." he replied, sighing.

Our conversation continued, he asked about my life in Phoenix, and I, in turn, asked about his life without me. Then he asked me random questions about my favorite things, like colors, flowers, animals, subjects, music, teachers, people, random things… And I asked him the same things.

Before I knew it, we were both asleep on _Alice's _couch, me leaning on his shoulders, and he with his arms around me. It felt comfortable, right, like it was supposed to be that way.

The next day, I woke up, and I was alone. _Typical._ But then, I saw a note lying next to my head, and picked it up.

Morning, downstairs, when you're ready, come over. Don't trip on the stairs 

I smiled after I read the note, and then went into the bathroom. I brushed my teeth, and took a shower. Then I went back into Alice's room, and grabbed a t-shirt and shorts.

I headed downstairs; I was on the fifth step when I started to fall. I remembered Edward's note, and as I was falling, I smiled widely. I closed my eyes as I fell down the stairs, and when I landed I opened them, and saw Alice, Rose, Jasper, Esme, Emmett, and Edward running over to me.

Esme helped me up, and after she made sure I could stand, she asked, "Are you okay Bella?"

"Yeah." I replied, groggily.

"How many fingers am I holding up?" Esme asked, holding up four fingers.

"Four." I said.

"Good. Now—

"Why the hell are you smiling?" Edward asked. "You fell down a flight of stairs! Do you know what could've happened?"

"Oh, well you wrote that note, and when I started to fall, I remembered it." I said, still smiling.

"Well, I'm happy you could still smile." Edward replied, sourly.

"Oh Bella, you're so funny!" Emmett said, his laugh booming. I didn't realize he was laughing. He laughing made me laugh even more.

"Do you think you need to go to the doctor? We could have Carlisle take care of you." Esme said, worried.

"Thanks Esme, but I am really fine." I said, trying to reassure her.

"Okay, call me if you need anything." Esme said, worry and concern still in her eyes. She seemed reluctant to go, but when I kept telling her I was okay and when I urged her to don't make such a fuss, she finally went.

Everyone was quiet, then as to break the tension, I asked, "What's for breakfast?" Everybody besides Edward laughed, of course.

We all went to sit at the counter, while Esme made blueberry pancakes, bacon, and eggs. She passed us plates, we all got a plate, except, of course, the Grinch.

"What is you problem Edward?" I asked, causing everybody to look at me. I didn't care. "You're so tense all the time, and when you're not you're apologizing for something. Why can't you just forget about your self pity for just a moment and be normal? God!"

"What about you?" he replied. "Why can't you forget about everyone else for a moment and take care of yourself, at this rate you'll probably die before you turn thirty. That's not normal, you have no sense of self-preservation, and you don't even see yourself clearly! You have no idea how beautiful you are, and you're not even trying. You think so low of your self as well, especially when a guy compliments you, you're always wondering, 'Why is he talking to _me_?' it's so frustrating because there are buckets full of guys out there who would do anything to go out with you but you're so, AAAGH! You annoy the crap outta me!!"

"Well, I'm sorry you feel that way. I guess I didn't—

"Wait did you say I was beautiful?" I asked, confused.

"Well, yeah." He said, blushing.

"Oh, well thanks." I said, blushing as well.

We were staring at each other until Esme said, "Just make up and kiss already. You guys are so oblivious!" I wasn't the only one shocked by Esme's outburst, she surprised us all.

Edward grabbed my hand, and then led me outside. He turned to me, and smiled. I smiled back.

"How are you?" he asked, probably still referring to my fall from earlier.

"Fine." I said, truthfully. "And you?"

"Fine." He replied. "You wanna dance?" _What!?_ Is he crazy?

"Are you crazy? There's no music." I replied, stating the obvious.

"So? Who says we need music to dance?" he asked.

"Um…well okay." I said, not sure of what I just did.

He took my hands and suddenly we heard music from the inside of the house.

Lets dance in style, lets dance for a while  
Heaven can wait were only watching the skies  
Hoping for the best but expecting the worst  
Are you going to drop the bomb or not?

We looked over there, and saw Alice smiling holding a stereo. We both smiled and started dancing.

Let us die young or let us live forever  
We don't have the power but we never say never  
Sitting in a sandpit, life is a short trip  
The music's for the sad men

Can you imagine when this race is won  
Turn our golden faces into the sun  
Praising our leaders were getting in tune  
The music's played by the madmen

"Do you love me?" he asked.

"Forever." I replied, hugging him tighter.

"I love you too. Forever."

Forever young, I want to be forever young  
Do you really want to live forever, forever and ever

Some are like water, some are like the heat  
Some are a melody and some are the beat  
Sooner or later they all will be gone  
Why don't they stay young

Rose and Emmett started dancing as well as Alice and Jasper. Edward twirled me around, and held me tight, I sighed.

It's so hard to get old without a cause  
I don't want to perish like a fading horse  
Youth is like diamonds in the sun  
And diamonds are forever

"I don't want this to end." I said, sadly.

"Me too, love, me too." He agreed.

He leaned in to kiss me, and I leaned forward. Just then, at that moment, as we shared our first kiss with each other, I realized, _this _was _it._

So many adventures couldn't happen today  
So many songs we forgot to play  
So many dreams are swinging out of the blue  
We let them come true

We swayed from side to side, and held onto each other. There was no one else in the world besides us, no one will ruin this moment.

"I love you." He said again.

"And I love you." I told him.

"Forever." He whipered in my ear.

**The End**

* * *

**Author's Note: i'm sorry i had to cut this short, i'm not going to have enough time to finish the story exactly how i wanted, so i had to pace it up. thanks!**

**Don't forget to review.**


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